


Swords, Crossbows, and Magic Spells

by Akatsukis_Alice



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Romance, Tournaments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 23:17:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20299582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akatsukis_Alice/pseuds/Akatsukis_Alice
Summary: They met during a tournament for the rumored return of a God. Three trials, three chances to prove themselves. It was the most fun they had had in a while. But that was two years ago and something bad has happened. Someone has started taking out the other competitors from that year. With limited resources, the city council decides to seek the help of some of the participants, bringing the group back together. But stopping a serial killer might be more then they can handle.





	Swords, Crossbows, and Magic Spells

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story based on a campaign that ended before my group got an actual ending. I had been toying with the idea of writing it out and finally got around to it. Tags will be updated as the story goes on.

The Edge of Eden festival happens every year at the height of the summer solstice. It always brought a lot of people out to Easthaven but this year was special. This year marked the 500 th  festival, and, rumor had it, Eden himself would make an appearance. The city was in full swing, trying to pull out all the stops. No one wanted to be caught unprepared if the demi-god shows up. And everyone was excited for the main event.

The tournament was the crown jewel of the festival. People from across the continent flocked to the city for the chance to show off their prowess. That’s how Dorian found himself standing on the second floor of the guild hall, overlooking the registration process below. There had been no rule against military personnel entering, in fact it had been encouraged. So, he stood watching over as others filled out papers. It also gave him a good chance to get a first impression on potential teammates and combatants.

The room was filled with interesting characters. There was a drow who he thinks only put their name on the form before turning it back in. Some barbarians wearing nothing more than a loin cloth. A stack of gnomes in one corner, a goliath in the other. A tiefling that seemed to be looking at other people’s forms as much as her own. It was interesting to see all the different people the tournament brought out. It would be amusing, to say the least.

\---

Koda was very excited to give out his portion of the team assignments. He had spent all night trying to make teams he thought would be perfectly perfect! And this morning he was moving as fast as his little halfling legs would let him, to hand out teams so they could meet and plan before the first event. He looked down at the paper, nodded, and headed towards the tavern.

Elias Ayres, the first name on his list. A human man who listed his skills as “doctor”. Koda nodded hello at the barkeep and bounded up the stairs to the lodgings above the bar. He had to stop himself from skipping down the hall. A few quick raps on the door to room 203 and he waited, swaying on his feet. After a minute with no answer he raised his fist to knock again, but the door swung open. Koda smiled ear to ear.

“Good morning, Mr. Ayres! I’m-”

“ _ Doctor _ Ayres.” Elias looked down at the smaller man.

“Forgive me! Good morning,  _ doctor _ Ayres. I’m Koda, and I work with the festival to help assign teams for the tournament starting this evening. I’m here today to finalize your team roster! Now, on your papers you mentioned wanting to have a magic user, so we have a wizard on your team. Did you have any other stipulations?”

“No orcs.” Koda hadn’t expected the blunt response and looked down at his lists.

“No orcs…” He repeated to himself while he made some notes on his paper. “Okay, I think I can do that… it’s just going to require some rearranging.” -he jotted down a time and a location on a scrap card- “Be there at that time. By then I’ll have everything sorted out.”

Koda bowed and spun on his heel. Before he could step away, he turned back to Elias. “Are you okay with tieflings and dr-”

“Just no orcs.” Elias calmly. “Anyone else is fine in my books.”

Koda nodded and Elias shut the door. He looked back down at his paper.  _ Keep her, and I can probably move on of the military boys onto the team… Who would make a good fourth? Maybe her? _ Koda was low on options but, rather than worry, he shrugged and headed to the next person on the list. Luckily, she was staying at an inn two doors down.

She opened the door not long after he knocked.

“Good morning, Miss Saturn! I’m Koda, and I work with the festival-”

“Are you here about the team assignments?” She smiled at him and he nodded.

“I am, indeed! Now, you didn’t mention in preferences on who you would like to be on a team with. Are you ok being paired with anyone?”

Saturn paused before shaking her head. “I’m good with whoever.”

“Perfect!” He handed her the slip with the time and location. “If you would be there-”

“Okay thanks!” With a sweet smile, she shut the door. Koda waited a moment. She had caught him off guard. Still, he shook it off and went off to the next person.

Kiran just took the card out of his hand and slammed the door in his face.

Dorian politely listened to his whole spiel before taking the card. 

One team down, several more to go.

\---

Dorian had a habit of always being early. It also helped that he had been hanging around the building where he was supposed to meet his tournament team. He went up to the room reserved for the team to wait and was shocked to find another man arriving at the same time as him. Elias introduced himself and held out his hand. He has black hair that reached down to his chin and the beginnings of a beard, all tied together with a pair of glasses. Dorian shook his hand and the two went into the room to wait for the others.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about our teammates, would ya?” For a human, Elias had a dwarven accent that peaked Dorian’s interest.

Dorian shook his head. “I was told to be here at this time; nothing more.”

Elias nodded. He felt like he should fill the silence but, if he was honest, he wasn’t the best with idle chit-chat. Thankfully, Dorian didn’t look like the guy to bother with it either. The door opened and a drow girl stepped into the room. She had hair about as long as Elias, but stark white and a bit wavy. Her eyes were ice blue and when she breathed, Elias swore he could see her breath. He supposed that’s why she was wearing more layers than one normally would in the summer. She took a seat in the corner. Elias and Dorian shared a glance before Elias fully turned his attention to the girl.

“Good evening, lass.” She just stared at him.

“Good evening, everyone!” Koda walked into the room and let the door close behind him. “I hope you all… will…” He looked around the room. “I’m sorry it seems you are missing a person.”

He looked down at the papers in his hand and started flipping through. “I’m certain this team had four people…”

As if that was a cue, the door swung open and a tiefling strolled in. Elias wasn’t sure what was more shocking. The grey skin that matched the drow or the sloth being used as a book holster. She had the sides of her head shaved, and the rest twisted into a pitch black braid. Her tail curled and flicked behind her. 

“Sorry for the wait. I wanted to make an entrance.” The pile of clothes scoffed and Saturn pretended not to hear it. 

Koda stepped aside and Saturn took a seat at the table. “Well, now that everyone is here, lets go over some final details. To start, I know you haven’t had time to get to know each other yet, but I hope you’re ok with this team. It’s too late to change it at this point. Now you have your first challenge, a fight, this evening. Pass, and the second challenge will be at noon tomorrow. Make it to the top ten, and you’ll have one final challenge tomorrow evening. Give it your all! Who knows when Eden will be watching!”

Koda bowed and left, leaving the team to themselves. Elias cleared his throat.

“Well, why don’ we start with introductions?” He looked around the room. “An’ it wouldn’t hurt to get a feel for each others abilities. Would also give us a better idea of how we can work together. Sound good?”

Saturn and Dorian nodded, Kiran remained quiet in the corner.

“Good, then I’ll start. Names Elias Ayres. I’m a doctor but I can handle myself in a fight pretty well.” Elias winked.

“Dorian Vaugn, paladin. I don’t have that many tricks up my sleeve but I’m good at fighting and defending.” He didn’t need to explain that much, the armor said it all.

Saturn clapped her hands together. “And I’m Saturn! No last name. And I’m a wizard, of sorts, so 90% of what I do is tricks.”

Elias raised an eyebrow. “A wizard  _ of sorts?” _

“Well ‘war mage’ is a bit more fitting but still a wizard.”

“And what is  _ that _ ?” He pointed at the spot where a claw was slowly working its way onto the table.

“Oh that’s just Leggy.” She lifted the creature onto the table. It looked like a sloth and still had its back legs wrapped around a book. As Saturn plopped him on a table, he made a small squeak and yawned. 

“Does it do anything?” Elias was now worried about how good of a wizard Saturn was.

“He’s a pretty good spell book holster and is mostly pure sass.”

Elias paused, not sure what else to say. and just watched as the claw slowly raised. He thought the creature was trying to flick him off, but considering it only had two claws, it was hard to tell. So he just looked back at Kiran.

“And you, lass?” 

Kiran continued to stare at them. After a pause, Saturn leaned closer to Elias.

“Does she speak common?” She made a poor attempt at whispering.

“Maybe she’s a mute? Or possibly-”

“You know I can hear you right?” The drow snapped. “My name’s Kiran, and as long as you three can pull your own weight, there won’t be any problems.”

Kiran stood up and started towards the door. “I plan on winning this.  _ Don’t _ get in my way.”

“Don’ worry, lass. I think we all came here to win.” 

The others stood as well and followed her out the door.

\---

The team was waiting in the holding room. They were up next and were now just waiting for the current competitors to finish. They had stayed quiet. Between the excitement and nerves, they didn’t have much to say. The doors opened and the team that went before them hobbled in. From the looks of it, they had a rough time. One couldn’t even walk without support from their friend. People from the medical team rushed in to start treating wounds. Saturn, Dorian, Kiran, and Elias made their way into the arena.

In an instant, cheers came from the stands. Everyone was ready for the next fight. Dorian adjusted his shield and Elias hopped from one foot to the other. They were raring to go, and the cheers just pumped them up even more. A booming voice cut through all the shouts.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I hope your ready for the next round! Competitors, this challenge is two back-to-back fights. If you win the first fight, the arena will shift and the second will start. The door back to the waiting room will be locked until you either win, lose, or surrender. Now, with that said, competitors, are you ready?”

Saturn and Elias hooted while Dorian and Kiran just nodded. Then the arena began to shift. Everyone had been briefed on the way the battles would work before hand. Everything was crafted by a high level illusionist; from the enemies to the environment. They might not be real, but they could still hurt you.

A wall divided the room into an ‘H’ shape with a dead-end curve on each end. Once everything settled, everything went quiet. The group glanced around and then at each other. Elias and Kiran moved to the other side of the room. Saturn and Dorian stayed back to look around their side. Saturn carefully moved towards the dead-end. Nothing. A snap and she sent a small flame, lighting up the shadows. Still nothing. With a huff, she turned back to Dorian.

Dorian watched the shadows fall back into place behind her. But something wasn’t right about how it moved. Before he could say anything, part of the shadow reached out and snagged Saturn’s arm. She yelped and pulled away, moving closer to Dorian. One shadow darted across, moving to get into the shadow of the wall closer.

“How’s it going over there? Everything okay?” Elias called out.

“It’s hiding in the shadows!” Saturn called back.

“It’s-” Elias cut off his sentence with a curse.

There was more than one. Saturn looked into the shadows, trying to find anything that might show where the creature was. They wouldn’t give them something they couldn’t fight, would they? She could hear fighting on the other side of the arena. Her eyes narrowed. 

“Fine. If it doesn’t want to come out, I’ll just have to make it. Dorian?”

She looked at the paladin who, in response, threw down his shield and readied his grip on his sword. A few mumbled words and a quick gesture, Saturn drew a line in front of her. Fire followed the line, and for a few seconds, the creature had no cover. And that was just the opening Dorian needed. The second the fire cleared, he lunged forward, driving the blade through the spot the creature had been. When he pulled back, a shadowy body slumped forward onto the ground.

“Are there any others?” Dorian asked, sword still ready.

“It’s hard to tell..”

“We could use some help over here!” Elias called out, then paused. “Never mind, we got it.”

Saturn chuckled and relaxed a little, waiting for the arena to shift again. What she got instead was a shadow whipping out against her back. She cursed and ran behind Dorian again.

“Jesus, how many are there?!”

“At least three…” Dorian held his sword out in front of him.

Dorian was human, he didn’t have keen eyes to see in the dark like Saturn, and presumably Kiran, had. If they couldn’t see the creatures, he didn’t have a chance. The other half of the team were faring about the same. But they didn’t have someone that could conjure fire on their side. Elias had done his best to cover Kiran when the shadow first tried attacking her. The damn thing had gotten a good hit in and somehow, though all the layers, left a deep cut. Elias wanted to stitch it up but now wasn’t the time. Kiran chalked her heart racing up to the adrenaline and fired an eldridge blast into the right corner at the right time. When the creature tried to rush into the other shadows, Elias punched it. The crowd was definitely getting a show. 

“Can you cast that spell again?” Dorian could feel Saturn pressed into his back.

“All day, every day.” 

She brought her hands around in front of Dorian and made the sign again. Like the first time, Dorian rushed to strike once he was clear of the flames. The monsters weren’t that hard to fight once you figured them out. When the last one was hit, the walls disappeared into the ground and the room expanded and turned. It was now a jagged diamond shape with raised pedestals at each point. It was good they weren't banged up too much because they had less than a minute before the next set of enemies.

Three cultists seemed to be weaved into existence. It seemed like it was going to be much easier than the first fight. Kiran traded her dagger for her crossbow and Saturn flipped for a spell that would end this quickly. But, as luck would have it, things are never that easy.

Dorian and Elias rushed two of the cultists, the third slipped past and began making his way towards one of the pedestals. Out of the corner of her eyes, Saturn could see him trying to channel something only to fail. Saturn grinned as she fired off a magic missile at him, knocking him off and closer to Kiran. In turn, Kiran raised her crossbow only for it to fail. With a curse, she threw the crossbow down and sent an ice shard flying instead.

Saturn climbed up onto the pedestal, noticing for the first time a disk laid into it with a flame engraved on it. She took a deep breath and tried drawing up the magic. From the center, a whirlwind of fire burst out, somehow only catching one of the cultists. With his only two allies gone, the head cultist rushed to the pedestal in the northern corner.

“Hey guys, you may want to try to get on the other pedestals.” Saturn called.

Elias and Dorian nodded and fell back, taking the ones in the west and the south. Kiran opted instead to stand directly in the middle. The moment her feet his the center-most point, a light followed along the ground from each of the pedestals until them met at Kiran’s feet. There was magic in the air, so thick that even people not magically inclined could feel it. Kiran raised her hand and focused that energy directly at the final cultist.

It looked like someone had set off fireworks in the arena as electricity and magic collided, frying the final enemy. Kiran lowered her hand, panting.

“That was so AWESOME!” Saturn yelled as she jumped off and ran towards Kiran. 

The team regrouped in the center as thunderous cheers erupted from the stands. The others were able to contain their excitement but Saturn was the kind that showed every emotion. As the left the arena, she practically skipped.

\---

Saturn was still giddy when they made it to the bar. Not only had they passed the first round with flying colors (literally), they had been the first group to figure out how to use the magic of the arena against itself. Thanks to that, their first round was on the house.

“That was the coolest thing ever! Like, I’ve been doing magic for a long time but nothing felt as crazy as  _ that _ ! How did you even figure that out Kiran?” Saturn took a big gulp from her tankard.

Kiran just looked into her cup. She wasn’t going to tell her that she wanted it to be symmetrical and couldn’t think of a good enough lie. Thankfully, Elias changed the subject.

“Ya’ know, Dorian, I don’t think I’ve seen you have any look other than that stone face.” Elias was already slurring his words. “I’m goin’ to tell ya’ a joke, okay? Okay. So a tin can walks into a bar.”

He paused long enough to give Dorian a chance to answer, “No it doesn’t. It’s a can.”

Elias might have been upset his joke was ruined but Saturn thought it was hilarious.

“Oh! The dart boards free!” She ran up and scooped up the darts.

Elias raised an eyebrow. “You play darts?”

“I’m pretty good at it.”

He chuckled. “Loser buys next round?”

“Oh you are on!”

“Ladies first.” Elias gave a mocking bow.

“Oh no, no, no! Age before beauty!” She fired back.

Kiran watched as the two played a round of darts with a twinge of jealousy. She wasn’t sure why, she never cared for the game, and she didn’t like getting close to people. But seeing Saturn get and enjoy the attention so easily- no. Kiran stuffed the idea down. Saturn was a different breed of girl and Kiran wasn’t going to let that distract her from what she came here for. Before she knew it, Saturn had won and Elias changed to “best two out of three.”

Saturn ended up winning over all, not that it mattered. A few random bar patrons ended up buying their drinks for them. Kiran had hardly made a dent in hers before she stood up.

“You guys better be ready for tomorrow.”

Saturn gave her a confused look. “Kiran! Don’t leave! We’re celebrating! Relax a little!”

Kiran glared at her. “Prematurely. That was just the first round.”

She left the bar and began heading back to her room at the inn. In the street men and women were passing out these little flowers.  _ Forget-Me-Nots _ , Kiran recalled. The same flower that grew on Eden’s grave before his return. It had become a tradition to give them out as good luck charms during the festival but, over time, it also turned into ‘giving them to people you wanted to sleep with’ symbol. A guy tried to put one in her hair as she passed and she slapped his hand out of the way without a word. Kiran wasn’t that kind of girl and she wanted to get to the inn before the party started.

\---

“Do you need someone to walk you back to your room?” Dorian stood to walk out with Saturn.

Elias had found himself a comfy spot at the bar and didn’t seem like he was going to move anytime soon. Saturn would have stayed longer but the party inside the bar was starting to get stale while things were picking up outside.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m not going back just yet. The sun’s just now starting to set!” With a wink, she headed towards town center.

\---

Saturn had broken away from the party and was looking for a spot to cool off. The sun had set a couple hours ago but the party in the center of town was still going strong. She took a seat at the base of a statue a few blocks away. Easthaven had a ring of statues to commemorate the founders of the city. At one point it had been the center of town but when people started to leave offerings and worship them, they chose to move the center to the center of the market district. 

She was covered in flowers. Her hair had them braided in and some had even gotten them woven through the stockings that showed through the holes in her pants. Hell, even her familiar had some in his hair. Saturn didn’t consider herself a flower girl under normal circumstances but she liked the little blooms. While she was rearranging the flowers on Leggy’s head, someone stepped out of the shadows and moved closer.

“Seems like someone was having fun.” The man chuckled.

Saturn looked over at him. His face was hidden under a hood but she could see the sweet smile. She didn’t feel threatened but she could tell there was more to him than he was letting on.

“Of course. It’s the first time I’ve been able to make it up to the festival so I figured I should make it worth my while.” Saturn smiled.

“Then why are you hiding behind a statue in a mostly empty part of town?”

“Why are you lurking in the shadows?” 

The man chuckled but someone else came rushing up beside him.

“How dare you speak to my lord like that!” Saturn just rolled her eyes.

“Arvis, hush.” The second person looked surprised. “This is all in good fun. It’s nice to have someone speak so plainly to me for once.”

The man took off his hood, revealing the man of the hour himself. Eden. Saturn's heart skipped a beat, wondering if she would be struck down for her comment. But, if he was going to do that, would he have defended her words to this ‘Arvis' guy?

“Might I say, you have excellent taste in statues.”

Saturn didn’t have to look up to know she had stumbled under his. “So, the god everyone has been waiting for is running around trying to avoid everyone? I’m sure your people are ready and willing to shower you in praises and little flowers.”

Eden chuckled but Arvis cut him off before he could say anything.

“My lord, we don’t have time for this.”

Eden held up a hand to silence him and walked closer to Saturn. He plucked a flower that had been growing at the base of the statue. He brought the bloom to his lips before squishing it between his hands. Saturn watched in awe as he opened his palms. The flower looked like a ghostly memory of itself, edged in black metal. Eden reached into his coat, pulling out a few raven fathers. He ran the flower over them and they interlocked, creating a chain.

“A gift, for bothering you and thank you for not freaking out.”

Saturn took the pendant carefully into her hands. Before she could stammer out a thank you, Eden was gone. She looked at the flower. It was beautiful and unnerving. The feathers looked as if the were forged from the same metal that framed the flower. It gave off a strong magic feeling. Saturn brushed a stray hair out of her face. Surely this was worth far more than whatever he felt her words were worth. 

A few blue buds fell out of her hair as she rushed back to her room at the inn.


End file.
